1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pattern forming method for a developing process of a photosensitive resin film formed on a substrate, and a substrate-processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, in an ultrafine processing technology, it has been required to form a very small device pattern of less than 100 nm, while a very high precision is demanded in processing. In photolithography employed in these processes, miniaturization is promoted in the background of the shortening of wavelength of an excimer laser for use in exposure from KrF to ArF and F2.
However, if a pattern is formed by using such excimer laser, it is not enough to satisfy the requirement of miniaturization. A slimming process is proposed, that is, a size larger than the target is formed preliminarily by photolithography, and a resist pattern is reduced by a dry process such as dry etching or ozone ashing while emitting UV light (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-85407), etc.
The conventional slimming process by a dry process is beneficial in the aspect of reducing the resist pattern because the etching gas has high reactivity, but there were problems in controllability of dimensions within a substrate surface or between substrates.